Nose Down or Nose Up?

Did you know that an airplane has an instrument called an attitude indicator?

No, I did not misspell altitude.

Seriously!

Google or Wikipedia it and see!

What is an attitude indicator?

An attitude indicator informs the pilot of the aircraft’s real position relative to the horizon and the earth. Let me explain how it works:

The center part tells the pilot the pitch of his plane. The centerline is the horizon and represents the true skyline. It separates the upper blue colored portion, representing the sky, from the bottom brown section, which represents the earth. In the center is a dot that represents the aircraft.

If the dot moves up above the horizon line (blue background), the aircraft’s pitch is nose up. If the symbolic aircraft dot moves below the horizon line (brown background), the pitch is nose down. However, if the dot sits in the center of the horizon, the airliner is in level flight. The outside circle with its lines and numbers shows the bank of the plane or the title of the wings. This instrument gives an instantaneous indication of even the smallest changes in altitude.

The ideal place is to either be nose up in the blue or to be sitting level. Going nose down and not correcting it could lead to serious consequences, like crashing into the earth!

Just like a plane, our attitude is what makes us soar, or brings us crashing down.

What is attitude?

An attitude is a favorable or an unfavorable evaluation of something. Simply put, it is our inward feelings revealed by our outward behavior.

Attitudes first take root in our hearts. They then spread to our thoughts and minds and eventually will reveal themselves through our words and actions. To put it another way, your attitude is your thought life turned inside out.

Although attitude is certainly not everything, it does affect every part of your life and is the difference maker in whether your life is a positive one, or negative one.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Winston Churchill

Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

“It’s not your problem that is the problem. It is your attitude toward your problem that is the problem!” Joyce Myers

Negative attitudes will pull the nose of our planes downward, putting us at risk of crashing; possibly taking innocent bystanders with us. Bad attitudes spread quickly, influencing the attitudes of others along the way. Sometimes, if we do not adjust our bad attitudes, people will start to approach us with caution and eventually avoid us all together! It is very difficult to share Christ and make disciples when our prickly, poor attitudes repel others.

A good attitude, on the other hand, keeps us in the blue sky or in level flight. And, it helps those around us to maintain their own level, successful flights. Our good attitude will bring the best out in others. It will attract others.

Thankfully, because we choose our attitude, we can change our attitude.

As every good co-pilot knows (or, I sure hope they do!), when the pilot points to your attitude indicator and you are pointing in the brown, you’d better adjust, or else!

If my spouse, kids or co-workers are running for cover whenever I approach, then maybe I need to check my attitude indicator with my Pilot.

If self-pity is driving me, rather than Holy Spirit power, then maybe I’d better seek my Pilot’s help before I nose-dive, taking others down with me.

If I find it easy to pick out the speck in the eyes of others but am blind to my own “planks of wood,” my attitude indicator may be pointing to a rough ride ahead, unless I allow my Pilot to adjust.

If I take my eyes off the horizon and instead focus on the storm I am in, I may begin to blame my Pilot for leading me here. I may allow the fog of bitterness to roll in, and my attitude indicator will pull my plane down, down, down.